SNP leads Labour in Scotland by a massive 28 points, according to new STV poll

The latest opinion polls north of the border will make dire reading for Labour party strategists.

An Ipsos Mori poll, commissioned by the STV shows Labour would be crushed in Scotland by an insurgent SNP if the General Election were held today. The SNP lead Labour in Scotland by a whopping 28 points on 52 per cent compared to Labour's 24 per cent.

On a uniform national swing, this would leave Labour with a poultry four seats in Scotland compared to its current 41. The SNP would scoop 55 seats and could become the third largest party in Westminster if the Lib Dems lose several seats.

According to today's poll, the leader of the Labour party in Scotland Jim Murphy would be one of those who would be defeated by the SNP.

The Lib Dems, who are polling a meagre four per cent in Scotland, would lose all of their MPs in Scotland including chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander. However, the highly fractured nature of today's politics as well as individual constituency factors should leave observers to treat the figures with caution.

Nevertheless, the trend of the polls show a switch to SNP from 2010 and Jim Murphy has his work cut out for him if he is to revive Scottish Labour and prevent an SNP landslide. Murphy recently hired recently hired political strategist John McTernan, a former adviser to Tony Blair and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to beef up his operation.

Murphy caused controversy among his party's London MPs after pledging Labour's mansion tax, which would mostly be raised on London, would help fund 1,000 nurses in Scotland.